Two meetings involving the Global Muslim Brotherhood have reportedly taken place in the African nation of Mali during July. A previous post reported that the executive director of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) – Michigan had traveled in July to Mali for the second time to attend the third annual Malian Association for Peace and Tolerance Conference in the capital of Bamako. According to the CAIR Michigan director, the trip was part of a program underwritten by the US State Department. A local news source subsequently reported that a “large delegation” from Michigan was in attendance at an interfaith meeting held by the Association Malienne pour la Paix et le Salut (Association of Malian Peace and Tolerance) that also included the US Ambassador to Mali. The CAIR-Michgan website also says that “A representative from the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently participated in an international interfaith conference in the 2nd Association of Malian Peace and Tolerance Conference held on July 18.

Documents released in the Holy Land Trial have revealed that the founders and current leaders of CAIR were part of the Palestine Committee of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as identifying the organization itself as being part of the US. Brotherhood. A recent post discussed an interview with the Deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in which he confirms a relationship between his organization and CAIR. Investigative research posted on GMBDW had determined that CAIR had it origins in the U.S. Hamas infrastructure and CAIR and its leaders have a long history of defending almost all individuals accused of terrorism by the US. government, frequently calling such prosecutions a “war on Islam.”

In addition to the interfaith conference, an organization close to Global Muslim Brotherhood leader Tariq Ramadan has announced that the Colloque International des Musulmans de l’Espace Francophone (CIMEF) (The International Convention of Muslims from French Speaking Countries) has held its sixth meeting in Bamako, Mali from July 23 to July 26, 2010 and presided over by the President of Maili. According to the announcement, the theme of the meeting was “Islam and Its Current Challenges” and was attended by 150 delegates belonging to fifteen associations from Africa, Europe and North America. Local media reported that Mr. Ramadan was in attendance at the meeting which was organized by the High Islamic Council (HCI) and a dozen Islamic organizations. Among the topics discussed, were peace and security, the reform of the family code. and the spiritual contributions of Muslims. The announcement added that the seventh meeting of the organization will be held in Senegal at the end of August 2012. According to the CIEMF, six persons were designated as a new Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) with a mandate is to prepare for the 2012 meeting:

Mamadou DIAMOUTANI (Mali) as president of the PSC

Tariq Ramadan (England) as an international expert

Bakary DANIOKO (Mali), member

Moustapha SOUMAHORO (Ivory Coast), member

Ehsan ABDOOLRAHMAN (Mauritius) member

Malika Hamidi (Europe), member

Tariq Ramadan is perhaps best described as an independent power center within the global Brotherhood with sufficient stature as the son of Said Ramadan, and the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood to challenge positions taken by important Brotherhood leaders. His statements and writings have been extensively analyzed and he has been accused by critics of promoting anti-Semitism and fundamentalism, albeit by subtle means. On the other hand, his supporters promote him as as example of an Islamic reformer who is in the forefront of developing a “Euro Islam.” Ramadan is currently professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Oxford’s Faculty of Theology and senior research fellow at St. Antony’s College (Oxford), Dohisha University (Kyoto, Japan) and at the Lokahi Foundation (London). Previous posts discussed his dismissal from his positions as an adviser on integration for the city of Rotterdam and from a Dutch University over his role as a talk show host on Iranian TV. A ban on Ramadan traveling to the US was lifted in January and several posts have discussed his recent visits to the US where he appeared at various US Muslim Brotherhood venues.